Hurricane in Haiti: Distributing Aid Supplies

Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR Japan) Emergency Assistance Team (Kazuya OMURO and Asako IKEGAMI) continues to conduct needs assessment and collect aid supplies for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Jérémie District in Grand'Anse Province and Les Cayes District in South Province, areas heavily affected by the hurricane.

people who line up in the row, and wait for distribution(October 29th, 2016)

Hurricane in Haiti: Delivering Food Aid to Devastated Areas

Delivering Aid Supplies From the Capital to Devastated Areas 

Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR Japan) Emergency Response Team (Kazuya OMURO and Asako IKEGAMI) continues to deliver aid supplies to People with Disabilities (PWDs) in Jérémie district in Grand'Anse Province and Les Cayes district in South Province, areas heavily affected by the hurricane.

After collecting aid supplies such as water and food in the capital city, Port-au -Prince, AAR Japan staff takes a 4.5 hour drive to Les Cayes District for temporary storage. In addition to food and water, AAR Japan collects essential aid supplies including mosquito nets, buckets and plastic sheets.

AAR Japan staff Asako IKEGAMI(L) listening to a women with visual impairment in Chambellan sub-district, Jérémie district (October 25th, 2016)

Hurricane in Haiti: People with Disabilities Are Left Behind

Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR Japan) Emergency Assistance Team (Kazuya OMURO and Asako IKEGAMI) is providing aid and relief to people affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew. The AAR Japan team is currently in Jérémie district in Grand'Anse Province and Les Cayes district in South Province, areas heavily affected by the hurricane, to conduct damage assessment and deliver aid supply. 

incomplete assistance

Jeremie District was heavily affected by the hurricane, with many roofs blown off the buildings.

Agriculture was heavily damaged as well. Many people have lost their livelihood as majority of the population outside the city make a living from their land.

Primary school in Les Cayes district. The roof was blown away and the fence was destroyed (October 19th, 2016)

Sudan:Saving More Lives

When do you wash your hands in your daily life?  While the answer may vary from person to person, in Japan we usually teach our children to wash their hands before a meal, after using the toilet and when they return home.

Wiping buttocks by hand

In the Republic of Sudan, a Muslim country in eastern Africa 10,000 kilometers away from Japan, it is common to wash hands before 5 daily prayers, after a meal and during excretion. During excretion, the left hand is used to wipe the buttocks. Except for a few houses in the capital, Khartoum, with a shower to wipe their buttocks during excretion, a watering container called “ibrig” is used instead of toilet paper. After excretion in a Japanese-style toilet, water is poured from the ibrig onto one’s left hand and it is used to wash the buttocks. Only after that are the hands washed. People who wash their buttocks in this way end up putting on their underwear while their buttocks are still wet; however, this is not a problem since Sudan is a country with high temperature and low humidity and their buttocks will be dry quickly.

Fetching water is a task assigned to the children and can take as many as two hours(Sep. 20th, 2016)

Hurricane in Haiti: Running After Trucks, Calling for Aid

Emergency assistance team enters Haiti

On October 13, the first team of Emergency Assistance Team (Kazuya OMURO and Asako IKEGAMI) from Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR Japan) has entered Haiti to provide support to people left devastated by the extremely destructive Hurricane Matthew. According to the United Nations, 473 people lost their lives and 1.4 million people, 600,000 of them children, are in need of emergency assistance (UNOCHA, October 13th, 2016).

A building seen from highway between Jérémie and Les Cayes. The roof is damaged intensely